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The Blue coalition will start an actual estimation of the economic situation in Bulgaria as well as the situation on the labour market because, the coalition is convinced that the government is hiding the real data for the unemployment and the scale of the crisis. This was announced by the leaders, forming the Blue coalition - Martin Dimitrov, Ivan Kostov and Anastasia Mozer ate a special press conference, devoted on the anti-crisis measures. Beside this if the Coalition was in power it wouldn't approve a loan from Russia for the construction of the second nuclear power station "Belene" and will not take a loan from the IMF. But they will reduce the social security rates by 0.1 %.

According to the leader of the DSB Ivan Kostov the export has fallen by over 25 % and the sales by more than 1/3. Production has collapsed by over 20 % and the production orders by 40 %. Kostov also said that since the beginning of the year hundreds of factories have stopped work in the sphere of construction, tailoring, tourism etc, and the government constantly denies a crisis in employment. The leader of the dark blue added that tens of thousands of people have already lost their jobs and hundreds of thousands are in compulsory leave. Kostov blamed the government that it manipulates the data for the unemployment and is hiding the real scale of the crisis.

That is why the UDF leader Martin Dimitrov said that the Blue coalition is ready to give answers to all pending questions together with the unions, the employers, the HR companies and the civic sector by initiating a public debate. The coalition promised that it will publish all new data on their web site on a daily basis and the results will become the foundation for the anti-crisis measures of the coalition.

euinside asked the coalition what concrete measure it would suggest taking into account yesterday's Spring forecast of the European Commission which foresees a recession in Bulgaria for this year of -1.6 % and a budgetary deficit of -0.5 %. Martin Dimitrov said that Bulgaria needs urgently a new budget and a drastic cut of expenditures. Dimitrov is convinced that around 2 bn levs can be saved if not spent for golf play grounds. He reminded that the introduction of the flat tax as well as the 10 % corporate tax was an idea of the blue party and that is why they know very well what should be done.

The most important step at the moment if the new budget because the current is practically over, said Martin Dimitrov. All inefficient expenditures must be cut. The project "Belene" should also be frozen because of the financial crisis and thus the government will not have to ask for around 4 bn euro loan. If this loan is not requested there will be no need to ask the IMF for help, added Dimitrov. Many financial and economic experts have insisted for months for a loan from the IMF because this would return investors' confidence and would guarantee financial stability.

euinside also asked whether the coalition isn't late with its debate on anti-crisis measures because GERB already had a debate and have presented their anti-crisis programme. The coalition reminded that they have many times invited the ruling parties to debates but they always respond with problems with the registration of the UDF or they send Plamen Yurukov. Martin Dimitrov explained that all scandals surrounding the Blue coalition are directed to diversion from the important issues. "We ask them, big unemployment, what are the solutions, their answer is - we protract the registration of the new leadership of the UDF in the court. We ask them, alright, a new budget, actualisation of the budget - they say: wait, now some people with the Auditing agency will be sent to issue a false document for the UDF registration. All this is being done to divert the issues in the debate, so as not to answer the important questions", Martin Dimitrov concluded.

In the meantime the prime minister Sergey Stanishev said that the only debates he is interested in are those with GERB because he considers this party as a real opponent.